We have two options at the #5 spot in the rotation rather than Phil Humber.

Keppinger is better than Morel and possibly better than Youkilis.

Rick Hahn has also said "we're not done" and Jerry Reinsdorf had said that our payroll still has flexibility.

Well, the Tigers have 5 Cy Young candidates in their rotation, and their lineup makes the '27 Yankees Murders Row look like a little league team. With Gold Gloves at every position, I don't see how this Tigers team doesn't sweep the AL Central, the Playoffs, and finally the World Series!

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I'm fairly confident Viciedo will not improve. At least not without more time in the minors and a completely reworked approach. His problem is that he has no batting eye at all, and coupling that with a long swing that doesn't make contact very often, he's a long way from being a piece that can contribute. The league figured him out pretty quickly. Why does it take our fanbase so long? These were things scouts have said about him all along...

You were fairly confident Derrick Rose would be a bust. How did that prediction turn out again?

Oh please. Yes no one can 100% predict the future, but there are things that are easy to assume.

Of course we can't, but you speak in more absolutes than a damn Sith Lord. It's baseball, and it's not crazy to think the Sox can even compete. The Tigers are the paper favorites. But the Sox are the next best team in the division, on paper, and sometimes the dog wins the race. They are not the embarrassment of a team you seem to believe them to be.

Of course we can't, but you speak in more absolutes than a damn Sith Lord. It's baseball, and it's not crazy to think the Sox can even compete. The Tigers are the paper favorites. But the Sox are the next best team in the division, on paper, and sometimes the dog wins the race. They are not the embarrassment of a team you seem to believe them to be.

The next best team on paper is the Royals. They've made a lot of improvements this offseason. I know - probably debatable. But the big thing here is not so much who's the next best team. It's the incredible cavern between levels of talent. Especially on offense. We have no offense. Sure, maybe someone gets lucky and busts out. But the talent of the hitters we've compiled doesn't make that seem likely outside of maybe two or three guys. Is that enough to carry us to even a .500 finish? Only possibly. We need much more talented players on offense if we're gonna start talking about playoffs. Remember, our division got better around us. Even Cleveland got a little better.

Oh please. Yes no one can 100% predict the future, but there are things that are easy to assume.

The bullpen is better and Reed should improve are really the same thing. I don't think the bullpen was the problem last year though, and it's debatable how a better bullpen improves us.

I like our #5 options better than Humber. Keppinger is a better stick than Morel and probably Youklis, but he's even more of a defensive black hole than Youk was. And his addition does not compensate for AJ's loss.

John Danks probably won't be 100% this year, but even if he is our big problem is offense, of which we have very little.

Why do you think Beckham will get better at the plate? He's had over 1000 plate appearances and has only regressed.

I'm fairly confident Viciedo will not improve. At least not without more time in the minors and a completely reworked approach. His problem is that he has no batting eye at all, and coupling that with a long swing that doesn't make contact very often, he's a long way from being a piece that can contribute. The league figured him out pretty quickly. Why does it take our fanbase so long? These were things scouts have said about him all along...

If you are confident Viciedo won't improve they might as well start manufacturing his All Star jersey now. You said the same thing about Derrick Rose. Beasley was only going to get better and better. You really seem to be a good sport about your statements, I will give you that, but I am not going to take your personal scouting reports too seriously.

Keppinger is a better stick than Morel and probably Youklis, but he's even more of a defensive black hole than Youk was. And his addition does not compensate for AJ's loss.

For much of the 2nd half of last season, Youkilis was a statue, completely unable to move at 3B, basically watching every ball hit to the left side of the IF roll past him. Perhaps when his knee is not bothering him, Youk is a better defensive 3B than Keppinger, but I have a hard time believing Keppinger will be much of a defensive downgrade than what Youkilis was able to give the Sox.

For much of the 2nd half of last season, Youkilis was a statue, completely unable to move at 3B, basically watching every ball hit to the left side of the IF roll past him. Perhaps when his knee is not bothering him, Youk is a better defensive 3B than Keppinger, but I have a hard time believing Keppinger will be much of a defensive downgrade than what Youkilis was able to give the Sox.

Keppinger is a decent to bad defensive 2B. He's atrocious at 3rd. He should be playing first, really. But guys without elite sticks tend to be thrown around the infield and labeled utility. And then teams like us sign them as everyday players at their worst position.